The present invention generally relates to determining and/or monitoring fluence of a substance, such as a gas. The substance may cause chemical reactions resulting in erosion or other detrimental effects. In an embodiment, the present disclosure sets forth a system and method for monitoring fluence of a gas that may generally cause erosion.
Determining erosion and monitoring the amount of erosion is important, as erosion reduces the life of a structure. Erosion cause by chemical reacting and subsequent vaporization of reaction products may result in pitting, thinning, cracking or otherwise weakening the structure. Monitoring erosion may be difficult depending on the material and the environment. While a direct measurement of the amount of erosion on the structure itself may be preferred, it may be burdensome, costly or difficult to access the structure and determine the actual erosion. For many structures, only one side or portion of the structure may be accessible without removing the structure from service or removing other components of the structure in order to access the other side or portion. In addition, there are numerous environments that render direct measurements extremely difficult, if not impossible. For example, walls of radioactive containers present environmental, safety and logistical obstacles that render direct measurements impractical.
Another method of measuring erosion may be to position a similar material on the structure that can be removed and analyzed at a later date. The material may be inspected weighed and its properties may be compared to pre-service properties. While such an approach may improve access, it still requires removing and analyzing prior to making any determination of erosion. Such an approach is costly and provides no early indication of erosion until the material is retrieved and inspected.
Electrical resistance and linear polarization resistance probes rely on electrical current being transmitted through a surrogate material and measuring changes in the resistance of the electrical circuit as the material degrades or corrodes. For example, as the material disintegrates resistance increases. Measuring the resistance provides an indication of the amount and level of corrosion.
However, in some instances, the combination of environmental obstacles, safety issues, and lack of access, prevent the use of any of these erosion-monitoring techniques. For example, structures in low orbit earth are not only difficult to access but present unique environmental issues, safety issues, and changing environmental conditions, such as temperature, solar exposure, and atomic oxygen flux. Therefore, there exists a need for a new system and method for determining erosion and/or monitoring fluence of a substance that may cause erosion or other detrimental effects.